This invention relates to a hydrogen-selective sensor having a particularly high degree of sensitivity with respect to hydrogen gas and to a manufacturing method therefor.
It is well known that, for controlling burning conditions of burning equipment such as boilers, gas heaters and kerosene heaters, a highly selective sensor is used which readily detects one of the varied gaseous components of exhaust gas or incombustible gas discharged from this equipment, for example, oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and hydrocarbon.
Of the above methods of detecting one of the gases with high sensitivity, the method of detecting hydrocarbon employs an FID (or hydrogen flame ionization detector) which has a high degree of detection sensitivity. In the method of detecting carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide, catalyzer nickel is used to reduce it to methane for high sensitivity detection.
In recent years hydrogen gas has been attracting attention as one of the clean energy sources and vigorous research has been conducted to develop effective methods of its generation, storage and utilization. There is a possibility of hydrogen gas being utilized for practical purposes as an important energy source in the future, but hydrogen gas is prone to explosion and so great care must be taken in its treatment.
Therefore hydrogen gas must be detected with high sensitivity, but the above methanization method utilizing FID has the disadvantage of being unable to detect hydrogen gas.